lighthall



Patented May 2, I899.

No. 624,35l.

A. H. LIGHTHALL. MARINE ENGINE.

(Applicatiop filed Sept. 20, 1898.\

4 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

wwwwoeot we nomzvs nzrzns co. PMOTO-Lhka. WASHINGTON, u. c.

No. 624,35l. Patented may 2, I899. A. H. LIGHTHALL.

MARINE ENGINE.

(Application mad Sept. 20, 1898. (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

THC cams PETER$ co, PHoTn-umn. WASHINGTON D c No.624,3 5|. Patented May 2,' I899. A. H. LIGHTHALL.

MARINE ENGINE.

(Applicaf-in filed Sept. 20, 1898.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

No. 624,35l.

A. H. LIGHTHALL.

MARINE ENGINE.

(Application filed 88 6.120,

(No Model.)

Patented May 2; I899..

4 SheetsShe et 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALMERIN H. LIGHTHALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HENRY A.

MAURER, OF SAME PLAOE.-

MARINE ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,351, dated May 2, 1899. Application filed September 20, 1898. Serial No. 691,416. (No model.)

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALMERIN H LIGHTHALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Marine Engines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,

' and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification. This invention relates to marine propulsion.

' The object of the invention is to provide a marine engine of such construction that the amount of power transmitted to the propellershaft may be quickly and easily varied according to the desired speed of a vessel and whereby also the reversing of the direction of movement of the vessel may be accomplished rapidly and without shock or jar to the mechanism or to the vessel.

Further, the object of the invention is to provide a marineengine of such construction that the amount of power exerted by the propeller may be varied by raising or lowering the propeller or by varying the power trans.

mitted to the power-shaft.

With these objects in view the invention consists of a marine engine comprising a motor-wheel provided with buckets or vanes for receiving the impact of water, a propellershaft attached to the motor-wheel, and a movable series of nozzles of difierent sizes adapted to be brought into line with the buckets or vanes to project streams of water of dilferent area upon the same.

' Further, the invention consists of a marine engine comprising a propeller-shaft having mounted thereon a motor-Wheel provided with buckets or vanes and nozzles for projecting water under pressure against the buckets or vanes, the propeller-shaft being capable of being elevated or depressed.

Further, the invention consists of a marine engine comprising a propeller-shaft, motorwheels of different diameters provided with buckets or vanesmounted on the shaft, and

" nozzles for projecting water under pressure gainst the buckets or vanes.

engine, the side of the vessel to which it is applied being shown as broken away and showing in dotted lines the positions of the parts when the central propeller is depressed. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the propeller-shafts and the well for the cen- Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the tral shaft. bearing for the central shaft. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the upper end of one of the guides for the bearing of the movable propeller-shaft. Fig. 5 is a'plan view showing the arrangement of the motor-wheels by which the propellershafts are driven and the pipes by which water under pressure is supplied, the casings of the wheels being removed. Fig. 6 is a perspective View, partly in section, showing the manner of mounting the nozzles and also showing the cut-off plate by which the size of the openings in the nozzles is regulated. Fig. 7 is a perspective View of a wheel-casing and waterchest, showing levers for moving the nozzles and the cut-0d plate; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view, partly in section, showing the manner of securing the nozzles in place.

In the drawings I have shown avessel provided with three propeller shaftsa central shaft A, having a propeller or attached thereto, and the side shafts A, each provided with a propeller a.

The means for driving the shafts is shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Each shaft is rigidly connected to a water-wheel provided with buckets or vanes, against which water under pressure is directed bysuitable nozzles to revolve the wheel in either direction, according to the desired movement of the vessel. The wheels B B of the side shafts are arranged in casings B B, and water under pressure from a pumpO is conducted to nozzles bband b b by the pipes 19 19 Arranged in each pipe I) is a three-way cock b by which the flow of water is directed through the nozzles 79 b or the nozzles b b, as desired, to rotate the wheels B B, and consequently the propellers a a, in the desired direction. The propellers a a are so placed as to be only slightly submerged in order to be in no danger of injury when the vessel to which they are attached is in shallow water.

The central shaft A is placed in a well D in the vessel, and it, together with the parts con nected thereto, is so arranged as to allow the raising of the propellera entirely out of the water or to submerge it to any desired depth; To this end the casing containing the waterwheels F and G is pivotally mounted in uprights e, and water to be directed against the wheels is supplied to the nozzles by telescoping pipes C, leading from the pumps C. The water afterbeing projected against the wheels is conducted from the casing E by a telescopin g pipe ef.

H represents a bearing for the propellershaft, which bearing is arranged in the well D of the vessel. .The hearing has projecting from it the supporting and guiding arms h, having at their upper ends the cross-pieces'h, provided with dovetailed ends, which are received by correspondingly-shaped guideways d in the sides of the Well D. The bearing H is preferably lined with lignum-vitae and has openings 71 in its sides for permittingthe inlet of water, whereby the necessary lubrication is supplied. 7 v

The shaft maybe raised and lowered in the well by any desired means, and one device for the purposeis shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. This consists of the cylinderJ, having its piston-rod J connected to the bearing H bya linkj. The piston is moved up or down in the cylinder to change the position of the shaft A by water under pressure supplied through pipes K K, connected, respectively, with the upper and the lower end of the cylinder. These pipes are capable of acting either as inlet or exhaust pipes, and by admitting water under pressure at one end of the cylinder and exhausting it at the other the shaft may be rapidly raised or lowered to any desired position.

The forward end of the well D has arranged in its wall a plate D, capable of moving up and down in a way D and arranged in the plate D is a globe-bearing D through which the shaft A passes. This construction permits of placing the shaft in any desired position and at the same time prevents the entrance of water into the body of the vessel. The .strain imposed upon the shaft when in motion is taken up by the thrust-bearing L.

In order that a greater or less quantity of water may be projected against the wheels F and G, as required in driving the propeller a in its dilferent positions, I arrange in the water-chests M on each side of the casing E,

in which water under pressure is received from a pump, a series of nozzles N of different areas. These nozzles are arranged on sliding plates 0, which plates are capable of being moved to bring either of the nozzles on either side of the easing into line with either wheel F or G. The plateshave openings through them for the passage of water from the chests to the nozzles, Levers P are connected to the plates, and by these levers the nozzles may be moved at will to any desired position and rigidly retained in place. The nozzles are spherical on their inner ends and are capable of being moved to project water at any-desired angle. They are retained in place by nuts 01., having indented faces engaging and conforming to the shape of the exterior of .the spherical portion of the nozzles, as clearly shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings. As a further means of regulating the quantity of water projected through the nozzles plates R are arranged adjacent to the inner ends of the nozzles. These plates have openings 0", corresponding in size to the opening in the largest nozzle,'and are connected to levers S, by which they may be moved longitudinally to bring the whole or-a portion of the area of any of their openings to register with the openings in the nozzles.

In addition to the described means of regulatin g the speed of movement of the propeller a I provide the shaft A with the two water-wheels F and G, the latter being of different diameter. The nozzles N on each side of the casing E are all capable of being quickly brought into line with either of the Wheels, and therefore the speed of revolution of the shaft in either direction can quickly be changed by bringing water under pressure from either nozzle against either of the wheels, the difierence in diameter of the wheels'being sufficient to effect a material change of speed without manipulation of the other means herein described as provided for the purpose.

While I have particularly shown and described specific means for raising andlowering the propeller-shaft, I make no claim to the same herein, they being the subject-matter of application, Serial No. 702,169, filed January 14:, 1899.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- V 1. Amarine engine comprising a propellershaft extending from the interior to the exterior of a vessel, a propeller mounted on the outer end of the shaft, an impact water-wheel arranged on the inner portion of the shaft, a movable casing receiving the water-wheel, and nozzles for projecting water under pressure against the water-wheel, the shaft bein capable of being elevated or depressed,- substantially as described.

2. A marine engine comprising a motorwheel mounted in a movable casing, a propeller-shaft attached to the motor-wheel cups or vanes on the mototwheel, nozzles for projecting water against the cups or vanes, a)

pump for supplying the nozzles with water under pressure, and telescoping pipes for conducting water to the nozzles and from the cas ing, substantially as described.

3; A marine engine comprising a motor'- wheel having, buckets or vanesthereou, a pro peller-shaft attached to the motor-wheel, and a series of nozzles of different size for projecting water under pressure against the buckets or vanes, the nozzles being arranged to slide to bring each into'or out of line with the wheel substantially as described.

4. A marine engine comprising a motorwheel having buckets or vanes arranged thereon, a propeller-shaft attached to the motor-wheel, a series of movable nozzles of varying size for projecting water under pressure against the buckets or vanes, and a cutoff plate for regulating the size of the openin gs in the nozzles, substantially as described.

5. A marine engine comprising a propellershaft having motor-wheels of different diameters mounted thereon, the motonwheels being provided with buckets or vanes, and nozzles for projecting water under pressure against the buckets or vanes, substantially as described.

6. A marine engine comprisinga propellershaft having mounted thereon motor-wheels of different diameter and provided with bucket-s or vanes, nozzles for projecting water under pressure against the buckets or. vanes, the nozzles being capable of sliding, substantially as described.

-In testimony whereof I affix my'signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALMERIN H. LIGHTHALL.

Witnesses:

O. F. BLUME, ALBERT LEU. 

